Counting wheel for intermittent-gear trains



R. C. BRADLEY.

COUNTING WHEEL FOR INTERMITTENT GEAR TRAINS. APPLICATION FlLED DEC. 6.}918. RENEWED AUG. 23, I92!- Patented Jan. 24, 1922.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

RICHARD C. BRADLEY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO FRED J. BRADLEY, OF CHIQAGO, ILLINOIS.

COUNTING WHEEL FOR INTERMITTENT GEAR TRAINS.

Application filed December 6, 1918, Serial No. 165,655.

To alZ'w/zom itmay concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD C. BRADLEY, a citizen of the United States,: residin at the city of Chicago, in the county of, 00k and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Counting Wheels for Intermittent-Gear .Trains, of which the following is a. specification.

My invention relates to devices for counting and indicating or registering a series of operations which are caused. to actuate-the. device, and it has particular relation to those in which an indication or registration is made by means of intermittently acting gears constituting what is commonly known as a Geneva movement. 1.My-invention pro-.-

vides means by which the-movements of successive 'indicati wheels ondiscs are comii other by 'sim 1e mecham. ism; by which, they are secure y -locked in: relation to each-=other at intermediate. pe-.

municated to ca riods of their'ope'ratiom; andfby which .the wheels or countersmay-be made in a very sim le and inexpensive-manner.: g

The principlesof my .invention are illustrated in the drawin'gs,-in:which-J,

Fig. 1 shows aifront viewiof a, meter embodying the principles of my invention;-

ig. 2 is an elevation of one face of my improved disc or counterlshowing the driving teeth;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the other face of such gear or counter showing the driven teeth;

F ig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section of such gear or counter;

Fig. 5 is a perspective of a connecting pinion.

Further describing my invention with reference to the drawings, in which like characters of reference denote like parts throughout: 1 is the base, 2 the casing, 3 the cover, and 4 the dial of a meter, the several portions being broken away to show the inside mechanism. On the frame 5 is mounted the driving wheel 6, which is externall actuated. 7 is the shaft thereof on w ich is the worm gear 8, meshing with the spur gear 9. The latter is mounted on shaft 10 and rigidly attached to the unit counting wheel 11 of the train.

The construction of the intermediate wheels of such train is shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. They comprise two elements, preferspecification of Letters Patent.

'noteirtended to the periphery,

Patented Jan. 24, 1922. Renewed August 23, 1921. Serial No. 494,735.

ably formed from sheet metal, which respec tively act as the driving and driven members of the wheel. The latter member is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and includes the face 15, the hub 16, the teeth 17, extended outwardly into a planeexternal tothe face, and the right angled flange 18 turned in a. direction op osite to that of the teeth. a The face of the ange is adapted to receive indicative numbers or characters as shown in Fig. 1, and the uniform. edge 18 thereof forms one side of a groove as hereafter explained. The said teeth are attached at the bases 19 thereof and the body portions 20 are set out from the face of the member a distance preferably substantially. equal to the thickness of the metal from which it is'formed, and they are but leave an annular s ace 21 adjacent thereto. .The' other; or driving member is-shown in Figs. '2 and 4, and comprises the face 25, the hub 26,.the teeth 27 turned in one direction, and the right angled annular flange 28 turned in the other direction. The said flange is of substantially the same width as that on the other member, and it is ofsuch size that it will be rigidly received therein. As theedges of the inside flange bear on the inside face of theother member a projectingor.- ,.locking-1edge or shoulder 30 is provi ed adjacent to the edge 18 or flange 18, forming therewith a groove or guideway 31. The teeth as shown are two in number. They are oif-set from the body of the material, substantially the thickness thereof, and the should extend to the line of the locking-ledge 30. But opposite thereto and to the space between them the flange 23 should be cut away at 29 so that the shoulder or locking-ledge 30 is interrupted at that point.

A stationary shaft 35 is secured to the frame and between each pair of counter wheels has loosely mounted thereon a pinion 36, shown in enlarged perspective in Fig. 5. It is provided with a series of short teeth 37 of such length as to en age the driv ing and driven teeth of two adjacent count ing discs. Alternately therewith are teeth 38 of such additional length that they may engage and ride on the locking-ledge 30, while longitudinal motion on the shaft is limited by the flange edge 18 on the one hand and by the peripheral space 21 on the other. It will be seen that when two adjacent discs are put in proper relative position and assembled with one of the long teeth of the pinion between driving teeth 27 and the other end between two corresponding driven teeth 20,-and the first-disc of the train is turned, the pinion will make an partial revolution untilsaid long tooth is freed. so that it rests upon the locking-edge, thereby preventing any relative movement of the driven teeth until said triving teeth 27 of the pinion and the following long tooth is freed from the locking-ledge by rotation into the slot 29.

It is clear that additional driving teeth 27 ma be placed at difierent peripheral distances around the disc 25 as'a reater relative number of rotations of the driven mem her are desired. -It is also 'apparent that in an apparatus like that-shown lthe'driven teeth may be omitted from the first wheel, and the driving'te'eth from the last wvheel of the train. i

I claim:

1. A constituent counting wheel ineinber formed from a sheet metal blank having teeth out partially free from and integral with the body portion thereof extended laterally in one-directioninbo a plane substantially parallel to said body portion and pro vided with a fla eturned laterally inthe other direction an adapted to bezenga' ed by a corresponding flange on a similarly anged member.

2. A counting wheel havin two sheet metal members each provide with teeth struck from the body portion in one direction and with peripheral annular flanges turned in the other direction, the flange of one member being received withinthe flange of the other member so as to form a groove between its periphery and the edge of til! receiving flange.

3. A counting wheel comprising a sheet 'Trn'etal ineifiberfprovided with a continuous series of teeth struck from the body portion thereof in'one direction, and a continuous annular flange turned in the other direction; and a sheet metal member having a pair of teeth struck from the body portion in: one direction, and -an annular flan e interrupted at a point adjacent to said pair of teeth received within the first named flange and forming an annulargui'deway in combination with the edge of-suid' first named flange.

4. A counting wheel 1 having two sheet metal members, each having teeth struck from the body in one direction, the bases of the teeth extending in 'a plane transverse to the axisof the wheel, with the major length of the teeth disposed radially of said members; and-telescoping peripheral flanges turned in' tlie'other direction from the members.- a 1 54A counting wheel having two sheet metal members, one of said members having teeth struck-from the body in'one direction, the basesof the teeth ektending in a plane transverse to'the axis of the wheel with the major length of the teeth disposed radially ofs'aidmem'ber-and telescoping peripheral flanges turnedin the other direction from the members theiouter ends of the teeth terminating inwardly'of the periphery of the adjacent member and coextensive with the outer'face of-the flange of the other member In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 25th day of November, 1918, at Chicago, Cool County, Illinois.

RICHARD o. BRADLEY. 

